


Orbit of Celestial Bodies, The

by LizaCameron



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode Tag, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-14
Updated: 2010-03-14
Packaged: 2019-05-30 13:51:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15097961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizaCameron/pseuds/LizaCameron
Summary: PostElection Day Part 1.  Josh tries to figure out where he went wrong with Donna, with the help of someone who is entirely ill-equipped to advise him.





	Orbit of Celestial Bodies, The

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

The buzzing of his cell phone woke him from a sound sleep. He answered with a muffled and groggy, "'Lo?"

"Did you see this Reuters story? Vinick took a shot at Santo's ability to deal with Kazakhstan."

"What time is it?"

"Does it matter? It's election day."

"Josh, its 4:15 in the morning!"

"It's only 3:15 here."

"Thanks for that lesson in time zones. Why are you calling me?"

"To see if you'd seen the story on Reuters."

"No, I must have missed that one in the course of it being the middle of the night. I'm sleeping! Which, coincidentally, is what you should be doing. You have a big day tomorrow. What's going on?"

"Donna was… uh… just… uh… here… in my room… um… no good reason… uh… checking the news sites and then she left and told me to check Reuters. It's a good thing because they're reporting-"

Picking up on Josh's awkwardness, Toby interrupted, "You were with Donna in the middle of the night?" 

"Yeah."

As Toby became more awake he began processing the information. "Are you calling to tell me that Donna was in your room and left at 3:15-

"More like five after three."

"Okay, are you calling to tell me that you were with Donna at five after three in the morning or are you calling to tell me that in a shocking turn of events your opposition said something to try and get himself elected, something you anticipated he would say, and are fully prepared to respond to?"

"Um…"

"What… 

"The opposition thing."

"What was Donna doing in your room at four… excuse me, three in the morning?"

"We were… uh… just working."

"You guys are all about the work." Toby replied slowly and not without confusion.

"Yeah… yeah… we are all about the work. Thanks Toby. I've got another call coming in, don't forget to vote." With that Josh hung up the phone.

Toby sat shaking his head at his cell phone for a moment before he set it back on the nightstand and turned over to try and get some more sleep.

***

~~~~ 6:38am CST~~~~~

"Hello."

"I took your advice. I don't think it worked."

"What? What advice?"

"Have you voted yet?" Josh questioned; changing the subject he'd introduced.

"Its only half past seven my time."

"That's practically mid-day!"

"I was just getting ready to go. Getting in the car as we speak. So are you ready?"

"I'm on my way to the war room to ask that very question." Josh's voice belied the tension he felt.

"Yeah." Toby replied knowingly and then after a beat added, "Remember election day on the first campaign? We were a little…"

"Hyped up?"

"That's one way to put it. I remember that I almost threw Sam out a window when I found him with that floor plan of the West Wing trying to pick out an office."

"Yeah." Josh smiled at the memory, before sighing, "I remember that Leo looked a lot calmer than I feel." 

"That's Leo."

"Yeah."

"So what advice did I give you that didn't work?"

"Oh… uh… the work thing."

"Huh?"

"That we're all about work. I don't think it… uh… worked."

Toby shook his head as he steered his car through DC traffic. "I have no idea what we're talking about."

"Donna and work."

"Okay, I don't remember giving you any advice last night… except maybe not to call me at four in the morning unless your hair is—and this is important-- actually on fire."

"You said nothing of the sort, but the advice you did give me, didn't work."

"Okay, help me out here; what advice did I give you?"

"Work."

"I need more to go on then that."

"Last night you told me that Donna and I are all about the work. So that's what I did. I worked, but now I don't know what the hell is happening."

"It goes against ever fiber of my being to say this, but I think you're going to need to start from the beginning."

Josh was silent for several seconds. "Last night…"

"Yeah?"

"Donna…"

"Okay."

Josh took a deep breath, "Before I called you, we had just… you know."

"You know?"

"Yeah, _you_ know."

"Really?" A surprised chuckle rang through Toby's response.

"Yes." Josh's voice was equal parts sheepish and proud.

"Wow. That's great. That's great isn't it? Is that a… uh… normal occurrence?"

"Normal? Well we weren't hanging off of any chandeliers, but-"

"No!" Toby commanded. "Stop right there. I meant regular. Is it a regular occurrence?"

"I hope so." Josh's voice squeaked by the time he got to the word 'so.'

"Doesn't really answer my question."

"Last night was the…" Josh swallowed hard, "…the first."

"Oh." Toby sounded surprised. "Well… uh… congratulations?"

"Thanks." Josh said, not entirely sure of the proper reply when someone was congratulating you for having sex.

"So if you and Donna were…" Toby let the words hand in the air a moment before finishing, "Why were you calling last night?"

"I needed advice."

"Has it been so long that you didn't remember how?" Toby asked with humor in his voice, something that had been absent for quite some time.

"I called you after she left. That's when I needed advice, after, not before. I remembered just fine..." 

"You're calling me?" Toby asked with very real surprise. "An indicted man, with an ex-wife who is barely speaking to him and children who are so disconnected from me…" He coughed before continuing, "…that they actually wear Oriels uniforms… for advice?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because… that's an excellent question. I don't know. Do you not have time to talk?"

"Well, after I vote I have a big day of CNN, cnn.com and Suduko planned, but I guess I could clear a few minutes. What's the problem?" 

"She left."

"The problem is she left?"

"Yes, last night, right before I called you and then took your advice about the work."

"So before she left…" Toby prodded.

"We were lying there in bed and-"

"No details!" Toby commanded gruffly. 

"Oh right. Uh… she left." Josh finished dumbly.

"So it wasn't good?"

"You just said you didn't want details."

"Vague details, painted with broad strokes."

"It was good, it was great. It was Donna, how could it be anything but great…. But after…"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I didn't know what the hell was happening. I mean I was in bed with Donna. Donna Moss. My Donna. Well not my Donna, but you know. Anyway after the good stuff, I'm hugging my side of the bed; she's hugging hers, we're like strangers pretending to sleep, a gulf between us… and the next thing I know she's up at 3am putting a sweater on and trying to sneak out."

"Hmmm… I don’t think that's a good sign." Toby said matter-of-factly.

"Exactly."

"What did you do?"

"I followed her into the bathroom and accused her of sneaking out."

"Smooth."

"I know. She claimed she wasn't sneaking out, but just checking the news sites, but I don't know… I don't think I believe her, because she side stepped every attempt I made at talking about it and then she did leave."

Toby sighed thoughtfully, giving Josh's problem sincere attention. "What did you guys decide before you embarked on this adventure?"

"Decide?"

"Yeah, didn't you talk about something, anything, changing your relationship, that type of thing?"

"Uh… there wasn't a lot of talking. There was some Scotch, and some flirty… uh… banter that led to bed, but once we got upstairs, no talking."

"Let me get this straight, you jumped into bed with a woman you've known nine years… one of your closest friends in the world and someone you work intimately with on a day-to-day basis, with not a word exchanged about what the hell the two of you were doing?"

"That about sums it up."

"Okay, then." Toby grunted, knowing his limits. "You need lots of advice. Far more than I can give you. In fact you need more advice than even Dr. Phil could give you." 

"Who?" Josh asked curiously.

"Uh, nobody." Toby shook his head quickly, realizing he was on the verge of revealing more than he wanted about how he spent his days since the indictment. "I'm just saying you need a lot of advice."

"I know." 

Josh actually sounded a bit sad, which made Toby take pity on him. After a few silent beats Toby relented, "So what advice do you think I gave you about work after this fiasco and what happened."

"You think it's a fiasco?" Josh's voice hit a high note.

"Uh… sorry bad choice of word. What happened after this… non-disastrous chain of events?"

"Like I said, Donna left to get coffee for us."

"The reason Donna left was to get you coffee?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. I'm not sure, but I don't think women go get coffee… after… if they're totally repulsed. Maybe it's not an unsalvageable fiasco. Continue."

"So before she returned, I called you, you said that 'we're all about the work' and so that's what I did."

"You've lost me."

"That phone call that came in while I was talking to you last night-"

"I have no recollection of any such phone call, but go ahead."

"That's because you were half asleep. But there was a phone call and it was one of my staffers, Ronna, calling to see if I'd seen Reuters and the next thing I knew I'd sort of turned my room into an impromptu war room. Work. A bit later she came back with coffee and we… uh… worked the rest of the night or actually morning."

Toby sighed and shook his head. "I'm at my polling place."

"Okay, go vote." Josh was silent a beat. "For Santos, right."

"Goodbye Josh."

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Do you have any other advice? Like what I should do now?"

"I really don't."

"Nothing?" 

Toby rolled his eyes, but he wasn't nearly as annoyed as he pretended to be, it was nice to think about something that was, well, nice. "Its proof you're certifiable that you're even seeking advice for me, you know that right?"

"We've been through that and… I know."

"Let's see, thinking back to the last time I tried courting a woman-"

"You bought her a house. I'm not buying Donna house. Well at least not today, I don't have time. Now tomorrow if she wants a house-"

"Josh…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want advice or not?"

"Okay, yeah, I do."

"I guess I've found complimenting a woman is a… place to start. When, you know, you're trying to get her into bed."

"But I've already gotten her in bed."

"Maybe that's the problem. You didn't do the things that a man should do before he gets a woman into bed.

"Huh." Josh grunted as he contemplated that idea. "Complimenting, right. Thanks To-" He stopped himself from saying his name out loud. "Thanks."

"Yeah." Toby replied gruffly, but there was a bit of a twinkle in his eye as he shut his phone.

Oh Josh's end, he snapped the phone shut and continued down the hall feeling slightly more confident in light of his new plan. 

***

~~~~9:30am CST~~~~~

 

Toby looked at the caller ID on his cell phone and smiled despite himself, "Josh." 

"Did you vote? How were the lines? Any problems at the polling place? Any laws broken? Traffic lights out? Suspicious road blocks?"

"In DC?" Toby shook his head, but the corner of his mouth quirked upwards. "Yes, I voted. The lines were long, but not too bad, considering how early it is. At least it didn't look like anyone was discouraged with the length of the line and leaving. There were no problems; I didn't see anyone given any hassle. Traffic and parking were fine."

Josh processed all of that information before crinkling his brow and asking, "Why didn't you vote absentee?"

"I like pressing the buttons. It makes me feel part of the process."

"Right."

"So any developments?" 

Josh thought for a second before plunging in, "Earlier I saw Donna and I tried the compli-"

"I meant with the election," Toby groused.

"Oh, uh, no exit polls yet. It's raining in Boston, but we've got umbrellas." Josh sighed loudly. "It's driving me a bit crazy… the wait…"

"I know the wait is the worst."

Both men sat silent for a couple of beats before Toby finally relented and grumbled, "So you complimented her?"

"Yes."

"And did that work?"

"I don't know."

"What happened?"

"I saw her in the hall shortly after I hung up with you."

"Okay."

"I said she looked great."

"And we're off to the races."

"She thanked me and then…"

"Yeah…"

"Now this is possibly where I didn't quite thread the needle."

"Okay."

"She said she'd changed her outfit because she didn't want to be in the same clothes as yesterday… and I told her she shouldn’t feel ashamed for… doing the walk of shame."

Toby groaned in disgust. "How are you able to tie your own shoelaces?"

"It's a mystery. What do I do now?"

"Was she upset?"

"Well, I don't think she was upset. But she's just so… cool. Just like last night. Totally professional. Totally focused. I have no idea what the hell is going on and she's all business. It's just not… it's just not how I pictured it would be with us."

Toby was silent for a moment as he thought about Josh's quandary with Donna. "Maybe…"

"Yeah?" Josh asked eagerly.

"It's a big day… for both of you. And it's also a big change. Neither of you have slept in weeks. Maybe she just needs some space?'

Josh let that sink in for a minute. "Space? Hmm… that's not a bad idea. And if I give her space, I lessen the chances of inevitably screwing this up further."

"That is an added bonus."

"Alright, I'll try that." Josh paused again. "Hey…"

"Yeah…"

"Uh… just thanks, for you know voting and everything."

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Talk to you later." But Toby was smiling when he hung up the phone.

***

~~~~ 1:10pm CST~~~~~

 

"'Good Afternoon Josh." Toby answered his phone with a smirk.

"Hey." 

"The early numbers look good." Toby commented as he sat in his apartment flipping around the news channels.

"Yeah, everyone is wildly happy, too happy." Josh paced from one side of his hotel room to the other. "But things aren't adding up and I'm worried about Minnesota. Donna thinks the new law prohibiting media and pollsters within a hundred feet of polling place is skewing the numbers. I'm looking at the data right now and she's right. It has Dakota country not only trending Santos but by a high margin."

"I thought Dakota County is heavily Republican."

"You can see why we're worried."

"So, things must be looking up with… uh… Donna if you're fretting over Minnesota numbers together."

"In a manner of speaking."

"So the space thing worked out?"

"I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well we just… uh… again."

"In the middle of the afternoon?" Toby said with surprise.

"It has been known to happen."

"On Election Day?"

"Donna sold it as a de-stressing thing."

"She had to sell it?" Now Toby was audibly laughing.

"It didn't take much effort on her part."

"I would imagine. So everything is… okay now?"

"Better, I guess…" Josh sighed loudly as he continued to pace, his calm tone belying the tension that was starting to build in his chest again. "It's just that…"

"What?"

"I don't know what the hell is going on. I guess I thought Donna would be a little… more."

"More?"

"Yeah… more. More into the touching and the romance and the cuddle-"

"No, no, no, time out! Do not take me down any path that includes the word 'cuddle.'"

"Oh… right, sorry."

Both men were silent for several seconds. Finally Toby mumbled, "But there was improvement?"

"Yeah, she didn't leave this time… well, she did, but she had to go do spin on MSNBC so it wasn't an escape thing." At that Toby glanced down at the remote in his hand and changed the channel to MSNBC. "And instead of hugging the edge of the bed, we were sort of hovering on our own sides, but it was much more relaxed and the gulf had definitely… lessened. At least a bit."

"Okay…" Toby considered with mock seriousness. "Maybe you're just inching your way towards each other. By the next election she may even be willing to touch you during sex."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Caught that, did you?"

Josh paused for a beat as he sat on the end of his bed to tie his shoes and cradled the phone between his shoulder and ear. "Is it at all possible that she just doesn't find me attractive?"

"Anything is possible." Toby replied dryly. "You know most men complain about women being too clingy after sex, yet you're complaining that Donna isn't clingy enough?"

Running his hand through his hair roughly, Josh tried to stifle his fear that everything was spinning out of his control. "This is Donna. She's the… she's the sweetest person I know, she's warm and giving and, and… I feel a gravitational pull towards her like she's the sun and I'm a… I don't know… some sort of celestial orbiting body." He paused to inhale deeply to try and calm the anxiety that threatened to make an appearance. "We used to be very… I guess tactile is the word… with one another. So this distance and complete lack of tangible physical affection-- now that we're actually having sex-- doesn't make sense." Josh's voice rose an octave and became a bit louder than necessary as he finished the sentence.

Toby gave him a second before replying, "We're getting into that too much information area again."

Josh puffed out his cheeks and blew out a breath. "Sorry." 

"But that was really… I can't believe I'm going to say this… kind of sweet. Maybe you should say some of that to her and not to me."

"Really? Because I don't want to scare her away. It's just that this doesn't feel like how it should be with us."

"I'm not sure you can scare her away. If she scared easy she would have ran long and fast about eight and a half years ago." 

Josh perked up slightly at that thought, "That's true."

Toby continued thoughtfully, "Maybe it's an act?'

"An act?"

"Yeah, she thinks you're going to be all… you… about this, so she's preemptively being you."

"Being me? That makes no sense." Josh replied with a grimmace as he loosely tucked his shirt in. "You're getting rusty with words; you're going to need to find a way to exercise that particular muscle."

"It makes perfect sense and my words are just fine." Toby rebutted wryly. "You do not have an impressive track record in this area. And as long as it's taken you to get off your heels and pursue this with her, who could blame her for wondering if it's real. Protecting herself in case you freak out on her and decide the whole thing was a mistake. You said yourself that you haven't talked to her about anything so she hasn't had the benefit of hearing you refer to yourself as a celestial orbiting body. She probably has no idea what a sap you are over her."

"You said that was sweet."

Toby grunted derisively, but then relented, "She might take it that way."

"So, you're saying talk to her?"

"I'm saying maybe you need to tell her what you just told me." 

Josh patted his pocked to make sure he had his key as he prepared to leave his hotel room. He paused at the door in order to finish the call before opening it. "I'll give it some thought. Maybe this advice thing can be a start to a whole new career for you."

"Well, I do need one. Just call me Dear Abby." 

"I was thinking more along the lines of 'Ask the Curmudgeon.'" Josh replied with a grin before continuing, "Uh… thanks again, Toby."

"Anytime." Toby rolled his eyes, but was also surprised to find that he meant it.

***

~~~~ 7:16pm CST~~~~~

Josh stood on the roof looking out at the night sky that blanketed Houston. Turning slightly, he gazed at the profile of the woman standing next to him. "So this time when you asked if I wanted to go for a walk…"

"Yeah?"

"You actually meant we'd be walking. Instead of…"

"Instead of?" The corner of her lip quirked upward, but she didn't turn towards him.

"You know."

"You thought I was propositioning you moments after you told me about your phone call with your mother?" She asked dubiously, but her mouth curved into a shy smile.

"Why not?" He asked with a half smirk of his own.

She ignored the question and instead explained, "I thought actual fresh air might do us good. Besides we don't have much time, we shouldn't be gone too long."

"I can be quick." Josh offered instantly.

"Yeah, not something to brag about." 

"Right." He nodded his head once in resignation.

"How are you coming with that head-exploding thing?" Donna asked carefully, now turning to study him with an appraising eye.

"Still on the verge," he replied honesty. 

Donna's eyes widened and worry flashed across her face before she was able to school her expression back into the calm and cool façade she'd been wearing all day. 

"But someone keeps opening a pressure valve, so we're okay for now," he reassured her as he met her eye for the first time since they'd walked onto the roof.

"Nothing more to do, Josh." 

"I know you said that."

"It's true."

"Actually, it's not."

She looked at him curiously, her arms crossed against her chest to ward off the evening chill.

"There is something I can do." His eyes drilled through her and she felt her breath freeze in her lungs. It was his intense look. The one he reserved for only the most important moments or issues. "I can ask you to have dinner with me."

"Huh?" Donna was rendered inarticulate by this completely surprising question.

"Tomorrow night."

"What? I don't…" Donna started to shake her head, but Josh didn't let her finish.

"Win, lose, draw. Houston, DC, Timbuktu. Whatever the outcome, wherever we are, have dinner with me tomorrow night."

"Dinner?"

"Yes."

"As in…"

"As in just the two of us."

"You think you're going to get lucky after dinner?" She smirked at him wryly.

"Donna, I already got lucky. Now I want to know if you'll have dinner with me tomorrow night."

She just stared at him blankly, so he searched for a way to explain himself. Settling on the truth, he began, "It occurs to me that we really haven't done much talking in the last 24 hours."

Donna waved him off with a flip of her hand. "Don't be silly. We're talking right now." She looked past him to the door back to the hotel. "You know we should get back, they could start calling other races-"

"We should get back there." He agreed, without taking his eyes off of hers, "But first agree to have dinner with me."

"Seriously, Josh, it's time. I… uh… we both have things to do. Important things. You've got a meeting with the guys from transition and I… uh… need to go over some things with Leo and Annabeth." She turned as if to start walking back towards the hotel. 

"Donna." It wasn't a command, but it was a request and it did the trick. She stopped in her tracks and glanced back at him. "What happened last night and…" He couldn't fully suppress the smile that tugged on his lips. "And again this afternoon was… amazing. But afterwards it's been a little…. And all day I've had no idea what's going on with you and here we are and I'm still not sure what you're thinking about, which made me realize that you might not know what I'm thinking. So I'm standing here telling you I think we should have dinner tomorrow night."

"You really don't know what I'm thinking?" She asked in a soft voice.

"You weren't exactly forthcoming when I asked you how you were feeling this-"

"Josh," She interrupted him but she sounded nervous. An emotion she hadn't betrayed all day. "I was serious when I said I wanted to win this election."

"I know you were." 

"There's nothing wrong with staying focused."

"No, there's not," he agreed.

At the look in her eye she acquiesced, "But I guess I did freak out a little this morning?" 

"A little," he teased, before admitting, "If it makes you feel better, I freaked out a little this morning, too."

"Really?" 

"A little," he qualified with a smile as he took one small step towards her. Slowly he caught the fingers of one hand with his own. Relief coursed through him when she didn't pull away and just that small physical connection released some of the pent-up tension between them. She'd felt just out of his reach all day, even when she'd been standing, or lying, right next to him—but at that moment, on the roof, she was suddenly available in a way that she hadn't been in a very long time. Josh could actually feel the change, even though it was made of nothing tangible. His eyes burned through hers as he spoke. "You were in my bed. You. I could hardly believe it had actually happened. Beautiful, amazing Donnatella Moss was in my bed." 

"Beautiful, amazing?" She asked shyly and in answer he lifted her hand higher between them so he could flip his wrist and lace his fingers through hers. Her eyes flicked to their joined hands and Josh squeezed her fingers between his lightly.

"Yes, beautiful and amazing. And I just didn't want to screw up my chance."

"I didn't want to screw it up either."

"You couldn't." 

"Oh, I think we both know that's not true, especially judging by this morning," Donna conceded. 

"You were a bit skittish," Josh agreed with a teasing tone as he caressed his thumb along hers.

With renewed confidence she met his eye purposefully. "It wasn't a bad skittish, it's just that I'd only thought as far as how we were going to… get there. Not so much about what happens after. And since I came on pretty strong-"

"You were a little vixen." Josh grinned at her and she blushed before continuing.

"I wasn't sure if you were thinking of it as just a one-time campaign sex thing. But you know, if your room hadn't been such a circus when I got back with the coffee, I think I would have recovered."

Sheepishly, Josh nodded in agreement. "I might have jumped the gun on that. But I was worried that I'd already messed up and it seemed like you were pretty focused on work. Which we've already determined is not a bad thing."

"Right," she smiled at him genuinely. "And the freaking out is okay as long as we're both doing it. But, for the record, inviting the rest of the staff to your room was a much bigger freak out than a sweater and coffee."

"Maybe." With a tug via their joined hand he pulled her ever so closer to him. "Toby told me I should tell you about the celestial orbiting bodies' thing."

"The what?"

"The celestial orbiting bodies."

"Alright, but first you talked to Toby? When?"

"Earlier." Josh didn't mention that it had been an ongoing conversation all day.

"Really? How is he doing?"

"As well as can be expected."

"I'm assuming that wasn't the first time." She cocked a curious eyebrow at him.

"Nope." Josh admitted, feeling a bit guilty that he'd never brought this up with her before.

"I didn't know you were talking to him."

"It's not something that I could really advertise, but I've been… in touch… with him for awhile. He's good to bounce ideas off of."

"Oh…" Donna looked at him with genuine pride and squeezed their linked hand. "I'm glad of that. So tell me about the Celestial… thing."

"Celestial orbiting bodies."

"Okay."

"Uh…" He started to stammer, suddenly a bit panicked as he tried to remember what he'd said earlier. "You see... the pull I feel towards you… it's gravitational… like the sun. No, not the sun. Actually, you're the sun with all the gravity and I'm orbiting you, just out of reach, but because of the gravitational pull I want to reach out to-"

Donna pressed her lips together gallantly, but she couldn't stop from giggling. 

"It's funny?" Josh demanded a bit huffily. 

All Donna could do was nod and a second later Josh's indignation turned to a laugh of his own.

"Oh, hell I can't remember. But Toby said it was sweet. The gist is that I'm really happy about last night. And no matter what happens tonight, I want to move forward—in the same orbit-- and that's why I want to take you to dinner, so we can talk about all the things we haven't talked about." He paused a moment before adding in a tone that had a touch too much intensity to evoke the levity he was going for, "And so it will be alright for you to touch me again."

At that she could no longer resist the temptation, or the gravitational pull as it were, to touch him. It had taken everything she had to not give in to the overwhelming desire she felt to reach out to him in almost every situation since she'd left his room early that morning for coffee. But she'd been wary of scaring him away, fearful of revealing too much of herself and paralyzed by an intrinsic need to protect herself.

In one fluid motion she leaned forward and tenderly touched her lips to his. Even though the kiss was soft and chaste and not meant as a prelude to any further physical activity, Donna felt her heart flutter as they instantly melted together, two orbiting bodies finally finding themselves on the same course. Josh released her hand so he could wrap his arms tightly around her waist and Donna's arms snaked around his neck.

Donna reveled in the feeling of having him pressed solidly against her. He felt safe and warm and not anything she needed protecting from. Josh, on the other hand, was entirely lost in the sensation of her lips sweetly moving against his own and couldn't get enough of the amazing feeling of her soft and supple body under his roaming hands. 

"So that's a yes on dinner tomorrow?" He asked when their lips reluctantly parted a quick minute, or maybe two, later. 

She nodded her head and her cheeks flushed a becoming pink. "Yes, tomorrow, win or lose, I will have dinner with you. But now we really have to get back."

He sighed and nodded his head, before releasing her. "Yes."

"You have that meeting with the transition guys."

Josh actually hung his head and grunted at the thought.

"A-ha!"

"What?" He glanced over at her as they started walking.

"I knew you were too okay with being out here. This whole time you've just trying to avoid that meeting," she charged playfully as they made their way across the roof.

"Save me, Donna."

"Save you?" She glanced over only to find he was giving her the full blown puppy dog eyes. They were very hard to resist.

"Yes, please come in and get me out of that Godforsaken meeting."

She couldn’t help but smile at that.

"Is that a yes?" He asked; his voice filled with hope.

"Let's see, Annabeth was on her way to wake Leo. I have a few things to go over with them about tonight, and now is probably the best time… but it should only take a few minutes. I can save you after I find them."

"I'll take it," He opened the door that led back to the hotel and held it open for her, "Let's go win an election."

She grinned broadly at him as she passed through the door. "Yes, lets." 

The End


End file.
